Lorde is always on the radio 'round where I'm living it seems, but I'm not quite sure what the hype's about other than the fact that she's still in high school and writes a lot of her own tunes. But I think the hype is less about her talent and more about the fact she's aiming for mainstream pop stardom as an "Adele-soundalike" or whatever: she's got nothing on Rosalie Cunningham of
Purson, for instance, who also writes and performs all her own stuff despite barely being into her 20's.
With the rare exception now and then, I'd say its a general rule that the greater someone's exposure is across the mainstream market, the more watered down your sound has to be acceptable within whatever "style" the execs decide to group you in, and it's looking more and more likely that Lorde is only one step away from being played in grocery stores at this rate. xD
Still, I wish her the best and hope she can leverage her success as a way to get more interesting music into the Top 40 market. Lord knows (no pun intended) that we need it.